The chokehold this film is going to have on me...
When Olivia Wilde released Booksmart, the first film she directed, it was a smash hit. Wilde had already spent a decade in the public eye as an actor, starting from her role in House in 2005. But her success behind the camera brought a new legion of fans. Since her achievements with Booksmart, those fans have eagerly awaited her next project, which was announced in the summer of 2019 as Don’t Worry Darling. And the details of the upcoming Don’t Worry Darling film, including the casting info and trailer, are even better than anyone could have guessed.
When the Don’t Worry Darling script was first put up for auction to production studios in July 2019, it was considered a hot property. A total of 18 bids came in from various studios and streamers, aiming to be the name behind Wilde’s next project. At the time, Wilde was also set to star in the film, which Deadline billed as a “mystery thriller for the #MeToo era.”
Since then, there have been a few changes. Shia LaBeouf, who was initially set to star, had to pull out of the film, and though Wilde will still appear in it, she is not playing the lead role. But neither of these changes have slowed down the production, which has built an A-list ensemble, led by Florence Pugh and Harry Styles.
Let’s run down everything to know about the film.
Don’t Worry Darling Cast
The cast for Don’t Worry Darling is stacked, starting with the film's main character, Alice, played by Little Women star and Oscar nominee Florence Pugh.
Acting opposite her is an equally huge star, singer and actor Harry Styles, who stepped into the role of Alice’s husband Jack after LaBeouf departed. Putting these two actors together opposite each other has turned a highly anticipated film in Hollywood into a red-hot project.
The third lead in the film, cast along with Pugh, is Chris Pine (Star Trek), who plays Frank. Wilde rounds out the quartet as Mary.
Other significant names in the supporting cast include Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades), KiKi Layne (If Beale Street Could Talk), Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians), Tim Simons (Veep), Nick Kroll (Big Mouth), Douglas Smith (Big Love), Kate Berlant (Sorry to Bother You), Asif Ali (Ritu), Ari'el Stachel (Jessica Jones), and newcomer Sydney Chandler.
Don’t Worry Darling Filming Updates
Don’t Worry Darling filming got underway in October 2020, and there are a few photos from the set, including this adorable visitor, Wilde's daughter, Daisy Josephine Sudeikis. Filming continued over the winter, with only a brief shutdown due to fears of illness among the cast. It wrapped in February 2021.
Don’t Worry Darling Plot
According to Deadline, the psychological thriller is set “in an isolated, utopian community in the 1950s California desert.” Deadline describes Pugh’s role as “a 1950s housewife whose reality begins to crack, revealing a disturbing truth underneath.” At CinemaCon, Wilde confirmed the film was inspired by “Inception, The Matrix, and The Truman Show.”
Don’t Worry Darling Premiere Date
Don’t Worry, Darling will be released exclusively in theaters on Sept. 23, 2022, and will start streaming on HBO Max 45 days later.
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